View source for AIPAC

{{Short description|Pro-Israel lobby group in the United States}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{Infobox organization
| name                     = American Israel Public Affairs Committee
| image                    = American_Israel_Public_Affairs_Committee_(AIPAC)_(53840039086).jpg
| caption                  = AIPAC headquarters in [[Mount Vernon Triangle]], [[Washington, D.C.]]
| size                     = 250px
| tax_id                   = 53-0217164<ref name= 990-2013>"[http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2014/530/217/2014-530217164-0bcbef07-9O.pdf Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax]". ''American Israel Public Affairs Committee''. [[Guidestar]]. September 30, 2014.</ref>
<!--
| mission = "To strengthen, protect, and promote the [[United States-Israel relations]]hip in ways that enhance the security of Israel and the United States."<ref name= 990-2013/>
-->| founded                  = {{start date and age|1954}}<ref name="Rossinow 2018 pp. 23–43">{{cite journal | last=Rossinow | first=Doug | title="The Edge of the Abyss": The Origins of the Israel Lobby, 1949–1954 | journal=Modern American History | publisher=Cambridge University Press (CUP) | volume=1 | issue=1 | year=2018 |quote=This organization's original name had been the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs (AZCPA), and it had begun operations in 1954. | issn=2515-0456 | doi=10.1017/mah.2017.17 | pages=23–43| doi-access=free }}</ref>
| logo                     = AIPAC logo.svg
| headquarters             = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.<ref name= 990-2013/>
| coords                   = {{coord|38.9004676|-77.0146576|type:landmark_region:US-DC|display=inline,title}}
| status                   = [[501(c)(4)]] organization
| employees                = 396<ref name= 990-2013/>
| employees_year           = 2013
| volunteers               = 60<ref name= 990-2013/>
| volunteers_year          = 2013
| revenue                  = $77,709,827<ref name= 990-2013/>
| revenue_year             = 2014
| expenses                 = $69,267,598<ref name= 990-2013/>
| expenses_year            = 2014
| endowment                = $258,533<ref name= 990-2013/>
| leader_name              = Betsy Berns Korn
| leader_title             = [[President (corporation)|President]], [[board of directors]]
| leader_name2             = Mort Fridman
| leader_title2            = [[Chairman]], [[board of directors]]
| leader_name3             = Howard Kohr<ref name= 990-2013/>
| leader_title3            = [[Chief executive officer]]
| subsidiaries             = 251 Massachusetts Avenue LLC,<br /> American Israel Educational Foundation,<br /> AIPAC-AIEF Israel RA<ref name= 990-2013/>
<!--
| slogan = America's Pro-Israel Lobby<ref name= 990-2013/>
-->| website                  = {{URL|aipac.org}}
| formerly                = American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs
}}
{{Infobox organization
| name                     = American Israel Education Foundation
| founded                  = 1990
| tax_id                   = 52-1623781
| status                   = [[501(c)(3)]] organization
| employees                = 0
| employees_year           = 2013
| volunteers               = 39
| volunteers_year          = 2013
| revenue                  = $55,234,555
| revenue_year             = 2014
| expenses                 = $50,266,476
| expenses_year            = 2014
| leader_name              =
| leader_title             = [[President (corporation)|President]]
| leader_name2             =
| leader_title2            = [[Executive Director]]
| endowment                = $24,527,692
}}
{{Infobox organization
|name = American Israel Public Affairs Committee Political Action Committee
|location = Washington, D.C.
|founded = 2021
|status = Political Action Committee
|leader_name = Justin Phillips
|leader_title = Treasurer
|registration_id = C00797670
|footnotes = Federal Election Commission<ref name="FECPacDatabase"/>
}}
The '''American Israel Public Affairs Committee''' ('''AIPAC''', {{IPAc-en|ˈ|eɪ|p|æ|k}} {{respell|AY|pak}}) is a pro-[[Israel]] [[Lobbying in the United States|lobbying group]] that advocates its policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States.<ref name="About AIPAC" /> One of several [[Israel lobby in the United States|pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the country]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenation.com/article/180653/room-criticize-israel-grows-are-policy-changes-table|title= Why Opposing the Israel Lobby Is No Longer Political Suicide|work=The Nation|first=Phyllis|last=Bennis|date=July 15, 2014|access-date=September 1, 2022}}</ref> it has been called one of its most powerful lobbying groups.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hussain |first=Murtaza |date=2023-11-18 |title=Meet the Secret Donors Who Fund AIPAC's Israel Trips for Congress |url=https://theintercept.com/2023/11/18/aipac-congress-israel-trips-donors/ |access-date=2024-08-09 |website=The Intercept |language=en-US}}</ref>
AIPAC was founded in 1954 by [[Isaiah L. Kenen]], a lobbyist for the Israeli government,<ref>Nelson, Nancy Jo (1980) The Zionist Organizational Structure, Journal of Palestine Studies, 10:1, 80–93, {{doi|10.2307/2536485}}. p.84.</ref><ref name="TG1" /> partly to counter negative international reactions to Israel's [[Qibya massacre]] of Palestinian villagers that year.<ref name="Rossinow 2018 pp. 23–43"/> AIPAC only became a powerful organization during its peak influence in the 1980s.<ref name="Wertheimer95" /> In 2002, AIPAC expressed intent to lobby Congress to [[Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002|authorize use of force in Iraq]],<ref name="AIPACIraqStatement" /> and in 2003, the [[Iraq War]] was defended at AIPAC events.<ref name="Milbank" /><ref name="Post-friendship" /><ref name="JewishNews" /> In 2005, a [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] analyst pleaded guilty to espionage charges of passing [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. government]] secrets to senior AIPAC officials, in what became known as the [[Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal|AIPAC espionage scandal]].<ref name="ynn"/>
Until 2021, AIPAC did not raise funds for political candidates itself; its members raised money for candidates through [[political action committee]]s unaffiliated with AIPAC and by other means.<ref name=bruck/> In late 2021, AIPAC formed its own political action committee. It also announced plans for a [[Super PAC]], which can spend money on behalf of candidates.<ref name="FECPacDatabase"/><ref name="TOE-2021-12-16"/><ref name="JPost-2021-12-21"/> Its critics have stated it acts as an agent of the [[Israeli government]] with a "stranglehold" on the [[United States Congress]] with its power and influence.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Mearsheimer|first=John|title=The Israel Lobby|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/john-mearsheimer/the-israel-lobby|magazine=The Israel Lobby and the US Foreign Policy|date=March 23, 2006|volume=28|issue=6|publisher=London Review of Books|access-date=December 31, 2013}}</ref> AIPAC has been accused of being strongly allied with the [[Likud]] party of Israel, and the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] in the U.S. An AIPAC spokesman has called this a "malicious mischaracterization".<ref name=bruck/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/jeremy-ben-ami-winning-a-place-at-the-table-for-j-street/2015/03/26/1acb118e-d33e-11e4-8fce-3941fc548f1c_story.html|title=Jeremy Ben-Ami, winning a place at the table for J Street|newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Ben|last=Terris|date=March 26, 2015|access-date=August 26, 2022}}</ref>
AIPAC describes itself as a bipartisan organization.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aipac.org/About%20AIPAC |title=About AIPAC |access-date=June 22, 2011 |archive-date=June 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624132914/http://www.aipac.org/About%20AIPAC |url-status=dead }}</ref> AIPAC states that it has over 3 million members,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aipac.org/ |title=Home |publisher=AIPAC |access-date=August 14, 2024}}</ref> 17 regional offices, and "a vast pool of donors".<ref name=bruck>{{cite magazine|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 1, 2014|pages=50–63|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|access-date=September 9, 2014}}</ref> AIPAC's supporters claim its bipartisan nature can be seen at its yearly policy conference, which in 2016 included both major parties' nominees: Democrat [[Hillary Clinton]] and Republican [[Donald Trump]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 21, 2016 |title=Biden Tells AIPAC Two-state Solution the 'Only Way' to Security {{!}} Voice of America – English|url=https://www.voanews.com/world-news/middle-east-dont-use/biden-tells-aipac-two-state-solution-only-way-security|access-date=2021-03-18|work=VOA News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |date=March 28, 2017 |title=AIPAC Policy Conference, Senators Harris and Menendez |people=Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Bob Menendez |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?426089-2/aipac-policy-conference-senators-harris-menendez |access-date=2021-03-18 |work=C-SPAN |location=AIPAC Policy Conference, Washington D.C.}}</ref> AIPAC has been criticized as being unrepresentative of American Jews who support Israel, and supportive only of right-wing Israeli policy and viewpoints.<ref name="SAIP"/>
==History==
===Formation (1953–1970s)===
Journalist and lawyer [[Isaiah L. Kenen]] founded the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs (AZCPA) as a lobbying division of the [[American Zionist Council]] (AZC), and they split in 1954.<ref name="Rossinow 2018 pp. 23–43"></ref> Kenen, a lobbyist for the Israeli government,<ref name="TG1">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/22/aipac-pro-israel-lobby-group-us-elections|title=The pro-Israel groups planning to spend millions in US elections|work=The Guardian|date=22 April 2024|accessdate=26 June 2024}}</ref> had at earlier times worked for the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Israel)|Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]. As a lobbyist, Kenen diverged from AZC's usual public relations efforts by trying to broaden support for Israel among traditionally non-Zionist groups. The founding of the new organization was in part a response to the negative international reaction to the October 1953 [[Qibya massacre]], in which Israeli troops under [[Ariel Sharon]] killed at least sixty-nine Palestinian villagers, two-thirds of them women and children.<ref name="Rossinow 2018 pp. 23–43"/> As the Eisenhower administration suspected the AZC of being funded by the government of Israel, it was decided that the lobbying efforts should be separated into a separate organization with separate finances.<ref name="Rossinow 2018 pp. 23–43"/>
In 1959, AZCPA was renamed the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, reflecting a broader membership and mission.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rossinow |first1=Doug |title="The Edge of the Abyss": The Origins of the Israel Lobby, 1949–1954 |journal=Modern American History |date=2018 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=23–43 |quote=In 1959, the AZCPA was renamed AIPAC, 'Israel' replacing 'Zionist.' The new name acknowledged ostensibly non-Zionist participants in the committee.... American Jews redefined Zionism to mean providing staunch and generally unquestioning support for the State of Israel, so long as the leaders of Jewish Israel maintained respect for the legitimacy and integrity of American Jewry as a Jewish community.|doi=10.1017/mah.2017.17 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-american-history/article/edge-of-the-abyss-the-origins-of-the-israel-lobby-19491954/E1690BDB5CA87C66B2B65D12CA1D716A |language=en |issn=2515-0456}}</ref><ref name="Wertheimer95">{{cite journal |last1=Wertheimer |first1=Jack |title=Jewish Organizational Life in the United States Since 1945 |journal=[[The American Jewish Year Book]] |date=1995 |volume=95 |pages=3–98}}</ref> Kenen led the organization until his retirement in 1974, when he was succeeded by [[Morris J. Amitay]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Langer |first=Emily |date=February 13, 2023 |title=Morris Amitay, ardent advocate for Israel, dies at 86 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2023/02/13/morris-amitay-aipac-israel-dead/ |access-date=August 8, 2023 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> According to commentator [[M.J. Rosenberg]], Kenen was "an old-fashioned liberal," who did not seek to win support by donating to campaigns or otherwise influencing elections, but was willing to "play with the hand that is dealt to us."<ref name=bruck-53>{{cite magazine|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 1, 2014|page=53|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|access-date=September 9, 2014}}</ref>
===Rise (1970s to 1980s)===
By the 1970s, the [[Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations]] and AIPAC had assumed overall responsibility for Israel-related lobbying within the [[Jewish lobby|Jewish communal landscape]]. The Conference of Presidents was responsible for speaking to the [[Federal government of the United States#Executive branch|Executive Branch]] of the U.S. government, while AIPAC dealt mainly with the [[United States Congress|Legislative Branch]]. Although it had worked effectively behind the scenes since its founding in 1953, AIPAC only became a powerful organization in the 15 years after the [[Yom Kippur War]] in 1973.<ref name="Wertheimer95" />
By the mid-70s, AIPAC had achieved the financial and political clout necessary to sway congressional opinion, according to historian [[Michael Oren]].<ref name = MO /> During this period, AIPAC's budget soared from $300,000 in 1973 to over $7 million during its peak years of influence in the late 1980s. Whereas Kenen had come out of the [[Zionist movement]], with early staff pulled from the longtime activists among the Jewish community, AIPAC had evolved into a prototypical Washington-based lobbying and consulting firm. Leaders and staffers were recruited from legislative staff and lobbyists with direct experience with the federal bureaucracy.<ref name="Wertheimer95" /> Confronted with opposition from both houses of Congress, [[President of the United States|United States President]] [[Gerald Ford]] rescinded his '[[Gerald Ford#Middle East|reassessment]].'"<ref name = MO>[[Michael Oren]] (2007). ''Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East 1776 to the Present'' (New York: W.W. Norton & Company) p. 536. "The infelicitous combination of Ford and Rabin produced the direst crisis in US-Israeli relations since Suez, with Ford pronouncing a "reassessment" of American support for the Jewish state. Rabin responded by mobilizing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee --- AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby --- against the president. Though founded in 1953, AIPAC had only now in the mid-70s, achieved the financial and political clout necessary to sway congressional opinion. Confronted with opposition from both houses of Congress, Ford rescinded his 'reassessment'."</ref> [[George Lenczowski]] notes a similar, mid-1970s timeframe for the rise of AIPAC power: "It [the [[Jimmy Carter]] presidency] also coincides with the militant emergence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as a major force in shaping American policy toward the Middle East."<ref>{{cite book | last=Lenczowski | first=George | author-link=George Lenczowski | year=1990 | title=American Presidents and the Middle East | publisher=[[Duke University Press]] | isbn=978-0-8223-0972-7 | page=157 }}</ref>
In 1980, [[Thomas Dine]] became the executive director of AIPAC, and developed its grassroots campaign. By the late 1980s, AIPAC's board of directors was "dominated" by four successful businessmen—Mayer (Bubba) Mitchell, Edward Levy, Robert Asher, and [[Larry Weinberg]].<ref name=bruck-54>{{cite magazine|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 1, 2014|pages=53–4|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|access-date=September 9, 2014}}</ref>
AIPAC scored two major victories in the early 1980s that established its image among political candidates as an organization "not to be trifled with" and set the pace for "a staunchly pro-Israel" Congress over the next three decades.<ref name="Stolberg-too-powerful-4-3-2019"/>  In 1982, activists affiliated with AIPAC in [[Skokie, Illinois]], backed [[Richard J. Durbin]] to oust U.S. representative [[Paul Findley]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[Illinois]]), who had shown enthusiasm for [[PLO]] leader [[Yasir Arafat]]. In 1984, Senator [[Charles H. Percy]] (R-Illinois), then-chairman of the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Senate Foreign Relations Committee]] and a supporter of a deal to allow [[Saudi Arabia]] to buy sophisticated [[airborne early warning and control]] (AWAC) military planes was defeated by Democrat [[Paul Simon (politician)|Paul Simon]]. Simon was asked by Robert Asher, an AIPAC board member in Chicago, to run against Percy.<ref name="Stolberg-too-powerful-4-3-2019"/>
===Contemporary period (Post-1980s)===
In 2005, Lawrence Franklin, a [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] analyst pleaded guilty to espionage charges of passing [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. government]] secrets to AIPAC policy director [[Steve J. Rosen]] and AIPAC senior [[Iran]] analyst Keith Weissman, in what is known as the [[AIPAC espionage scandal]]. Rosen and Weissman were later fired by AIPAC.<ref name="ynn">{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3151394,00.html|title=Guilty plea entered in Pentagon Spy Case|work=Ynetnews|agency=Associated Press|date=June 10, 2005|access-date=August 26, 2022}}</ref> In 2009, charges against the former AIPAC employees were dropped.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/us/politics/02aipac.html | work=The New York Times | first1=Neil A. | last1=Lewis | first2=David | last2=Johnston | title=U.S. to Drop Spy Case Against Pro-Israel Lobbyists | date=May 2, 2009}}</ref>
In February 2019, freshman U.S. representative [[Ilhan Omar]] (D-[[Minnesota]]), one of the first two [[Muslim]] women (along with [[Rashida Tlaib]]) to serve in Congress, tweeted that House Minority Leader [[Kevin McCarthy]]'s (R-California) support for Israel was "all about the [[United States one hundred-dollar bill|Benjamins]]" (i.e. about money]]).<ref name="BADE-11-2-19">{{cite news |last1=Bade |first1=Rachael| author-link1 = Rachael Bade|last2=Phillips|first2=Kristine|last3=DeBonis|first3=Mike|last4=Flynn|first4=Meagan|title=Democratic leaders call Ilhan Omar's Israel tweets 'deeply offensive' |url=https://www.twincities.com/2019/02/11/ilhan-omar-democrat-minnesota-again-accused-anti-semitism-over-tweets-benjamins-baby/ |access-date=8 March 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post|date=11 February 2019}}</ref> The next day, she clarified that she meant AIPAC.<ref name=Ygl19>{{cite news |last1=Yglesias |first1=Matthew |title=The controversy over Ilhan Omar and AIPAC money, explained |url=https://www.vox.com/2019/2/11/18220160/ilhan-omar-aipac-benjamins-kevin-mccarthy |access-date=8 March 2019 |work=Vox |date=6 March 2019}}</ref> Omar later apologized but also made another statement attacking "political influence in this country that says it is okay to push for allegiance to a foreign country.”  The statements aroused anger among AIPAC supporters, but also vocal support among the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and "revived a fraught debate" in American politics over whether AIPAC has too much influence over American policy in the Middle East,<ref name="Stolberg-too-powerful-4-3-2019">{{cite news |last1=Stolberg |first1=Sheryl Gay |title=Ilhan Omar's Criticism Raises the Question: Is Aipac Too Powerful? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/us/politics/aipac-congress-democrats.html |access-date=8 March 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=4 March 2019}}</ref> while highlighting the deterioration of some relationships between progressive Democrats and pro-Israel organizations.<ref name=Ygl19/> On March 6, 2019, the Democratic leadership put forth a resolution on the [[United States House of Representatives|House]] floor condemning anti-Semitism, which was broadened to condemn bigotry against a wide variety of groups before it passed on March 7.<ref name="Stolberg-7-3-2019">{{cite news |last1=Stolberg |first1=Sheryl Gay |title=House Votes to Condemn All Hate as Anti-Semitism Debate Overshadows Congress |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/07/us/politics/ilhan-omar-anti-semitism-vote.html |access-date=8 March 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=7 March 2019}}</ref><ref name="Friedman-6-3-2019">{{cite news |last1=Friedman |first1=Thomas L. |title=Ilhan Omar, Aipac and Me |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/opinion/israel-ilhan-omar.html |access-date=8 March 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=6 March 2019}}</ref>
In August 2024, AIPAC's headquarters in Washington, D.C. were vandalized by anti-Israel activists.<ref>{{cite news |last= Starr|first= Michael|date= 27 August 2024|title= AIPAC headquarters vandalized by anti-Israel activists|url= https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-816645|work= Jerusalem Post |access-date= 28 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= Strack|first= Haley|date= 7 August 2024|title= Anti-Israel Radicals Vandalize AIPAC Headquarters in Washington|url= https://www.nationalreview.com/news/anti-israel-radicals-vandalize-aipac-headquarters-in-washington/|work= National Review|access-date=28 August 2024}}</ref>
==Aims, activities, size, and successes==
AIPAC's stated purpose is to lobby the [[Congress of the United States]] on issues and legislation related to Israel. AIPAC regularly meets with members of Congress and holds events where it can share its views.
===Size===
As of early 2019, AIPAC had 17 regional and satellite offices and a new headquarters on [[K Street (Washington, D.C.)|K Street]] in Washington, D.C.<ref name="Stolberg-too-powerful-4-3-2019"/> AIPAC spent $3.5 million on lobbying in 2018, a relatively large sum in the realm of foreign policy (more than 10 times [[J Street (advocacy group)|J Street]]'s lobbying expenditure),<ref name=Ygl19/> but less than many industry lobby groups, according to [[OpenSecrets]], with the top 15 such groups in the US all spending over $15 million.<ref name=Ros19>{{cite web |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/how-influential-is-aipac |title=How Influential Is AIPAC? Less Than Beer Sellers, Public Accountants, and Toyota|publisher=[[Tablet Magazine]]|first=Armin|last=Rosen|date=6 March 2019}}</ref> It has also been noted that, simple dollar value comparisons aside, AIPAC has "a somewhat unique model" that often begins donating early in careers of politicians with "long-term promise".<ref name=Ros19/> AIPAC also commits to spending on a variety of "less formal means of influence-peddling", such as luxury flights and accommodation for congress members.<ref name=Ygl19/> In addition to lobbying, AIPAC has [[#Political Action Committee|affiliated political action committees]] which spend millions of dollars on political campaigns.<ref name=McG170522/><ref>{{cite news |first1=Karen |last1=Zamora |first2=Jeanette |last2=Woods |first3=Ailsa |last3=Chang |title=Why Pro-Israel PACs are helping oust Democrats in their primaries |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/08/07/nx-s1-5066702/why-pro-israel-pacs-are-helping-oust-democrats-in-their-primaries |date=2024-08-07 |access-date=2024-09-29 |work=NPR News}}</ref>
===Generating support among policymakers===
[[File:Secretary Pompeo Delivers a Speech at AIPAC (49611582676).jpg|thumb|US secretary of state [[Mike Pompeo]] speaks at the AIPAC 2020 Policy Conference.]]
[[Thomas Dine]] developed a network to reach every member of congress. American Jews, the "vital core" of AIPAC membership,<ref name=bruck-core>{{cite magazine|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 1, 2014|page=52 column 3|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|access-date=September 9, 2014}}</ref> made up less than 3% of the U.S. population and was concentrated in only nine states.<ref name=bruck-3percent>{{cite magazine|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 1, 2014|page=54 column 1|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|access-date=September 9, 2014}}</ref> Today, thousands of AIPAC supporters gather at AIPAC's annual Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. every year. Donors and VIPs are invited to the Leadership Reception on the final night of the conference, which hosts hundreds of members of Congress.<ref name="nation20190214">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/aipac-omar-israel-congress-anti-semitism/|title=This Is How AIPAC Really Works|last=Rosenberg|first=M. J.|journal=The Nation|date=2019-02-14|access-date=2019-10-20|language=en-US|issn=0027-8378|archive-date=June 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603185737/https://www.thenation.com/article/aipac-omar-israel-congress-anti-semitism/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
AIPAC has created "caucuses" in every [[congressional district]], with AIPAC staffers organizing every district's Jewish community, regardless of size. Campaign contributions were bundled and distributed to candidates in congressional districts and where they would do some good. According to journalist Connie Bruck, by the end of the 1980s, there were "dozens" of political action committees with no formal relation to AIPAC, but whose leader was often an AIPAC member.<ref name="bruck-3percent" /> ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' reports that in 1987 at least 51 of 80 pro-Israel PACs were operated by AIPAC officials.<ref>''The Wall Street Journal'', June 24, 1987, p.1</ref><ref name="Thomas-100">{{cite book|last1=Thomas|first1=Michael|title=American Policy Toward Israel: The Power and Limits of Beliefs |publisher=Routledge |page=100|year=2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dc2TAgAAQBAJ&q=PACs+of++AIPAC+members&pg=PA100|isbn=978-1-135-98345-1}}</ref> Some committees that "operate independently" of AIPAC but "whose missions and membership align" with it include the Florida Congressional Committee, NORPAC in [[New Jersey]], To Protect Our Heritage PAC near [[Chicago]], and the [[Maryland]] Association for Concerned Citizens near [[Baltimore]].<ref name="Stolberg-too-powerful-4-3-2019" />
''[[The Washington Post]]'' states that "its Web site, which details how members of Congress voted on AIPAC's key issues, and the ''AIPAC Insider'', a glossy periodical that handicaps close political races, are scrutinized by thousands of potential donors. Pro-Israel interests have contributed $56.8 million in individual, group, and [[soft money]] donations to federal candidates and party committees since 1990, according to the non-partisan [[OpenSecrets]]. Between the 2000 and the 2004 elections, the 50 members of AIPAC's board donated an average of $72,000 each to campaigns and political action committees."<ref name="Post-friendship">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/12/AR2006071201627_pf.html|title=A Beautiful Friendship?|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|first=Glenn|last=Frankel|date=July 16, 2006|access-date=June 30, 2024}}</ref> According to Dine, in the 1980s and 1990s contributions from AIPAC members often constituted "roughly 10 to 15% of a typical congressional campaign budget."<ref name=bruck/>
AIPAC influences lawmakers in other ways by:
*matching an AIPAC member with shared interests to a member of Congress.<ref name=bruck-expenses>{{cite magazine|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 1, 2014|page=53|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|access-date=September 9, 2014|quote=AIPAC representatives tried to match each member of Congress with a contact who shared the congressman's interests. If a member of Congress rode a Harley-Davidson, AIPAC found a contact who did, too. The goal was to develop people who could get a member of Congress on the phone at a moment's notice.}}</ref> Sheryl Gay Stolberg calls the system of "key contacts" AIPAC's "secret" and quotes activist Tom Dine as saying that AIPAC's office can call on "five to 15" key contacts for every senator including "standoffish" ones.<ref name="Stolberg-too-powerful-4-3-2019"/>
*carefully curated trips to Israel for legislators and other opinion-makers, all-expenses-paid for by AIPAC's charitable arm, the American Israel Education Foundation.<ref name=bruck-expenses2>{{cite magazine|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 1, 2014|page=53|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|access-date=September 9, 2014|quote=Soon after taking office, Baird went on a "virtually obligatory" trip to Israel: a freshman ritual in which everything—business-class flights, accommodations at the King David or the Citadel—is paid for by AIPAC's charitable arm. The tours are carefully curated. "They do have you meet with the Palestinian leaders, in a sort of token process", Baird said. "But then when you're done with it, they tell you everything the Palestinian leaders said that's wrong. And, of course, the Palestinians don't get to have dinner with you at the hotel that night."}}</ref> In 2005 alone, more than 100 members of Congress visited Israel, some multiple times.<ref>Jewish Telegraphic Agency, January 13, 2006</ref>
*cultivating student leaders such as student body presidents.<ref name=bruck-student>{{cite magazine|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 1, 2014|page=54|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|access-date=September 9, 2014|quote=local AIPAC staffers, in the manner of basketball recruiters, befriend some members when they are still serving on the student council. "If you have a dream about running for office, AIPAC calls you", one House member said. Certainly, it's a rarity when someone undertakes a campaign for the House or the Senate today without hearing from AIPAC.}}</ref> At colleges, it provides "political leadership training" to undergraduate student groups. This is an effort to "build a stronger pro-Israel movement among students on and off campuses nationwide."<ref name=Usa>{{cite book|last1=Usa|first1=Ibp|title=Jewish Lobby in the United States Handbook: Organization, Operations ...|publisher=International Business Publications.|page=26|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QPsrxlF18_UC&q=AIPAC+provides+political+leadership+training+to+undergraduate+student+groups&pg=PA26|isbn=978-1-4387-2611-3|date=June 2, 2019}}</ref>
*sympathy for Israel among the general public.<ref name=bruck-unlocked>{{cite magazine|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 1, 2014|pages=50–63|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|access-date=September 9, 2014|quote=In the early days, Howard Berman said, "AIPAC was knocking on an unlocked door." Most Americans have been favorably disposed toward Israel since its founding, and no other lobby spoke for them on a national scale. Unlike other lobbies—such as the N.R.A., which is opposed by various anti-gun groups—AIPAC did not face a significant and well-funded countervailing force.}}</ref>
AIPAC has supported loyal incumbents (such as Senator [[Lowell P. Weicker Jr.]], R-[[Connecticut]]) even when opposed by Jewish candidates, and the organization has worked to unseat pro-Palestinian incumbents (such as Representative [[Paul Findley]]) or candidates perceived to be unsympathetic to Israel (Senator [[Charles H. Percy]]).<ref name=bruck/> However, a Jewish member of Congress, Representative [[Jan Schakowsky]] (D-Illinois), who had maintained good relations with AIPAC and had been given campaign contributions by its members, was opposed by the group in her 2010 reelection campaign after she was endorsed by the advocacy group [[J Street (advocacy group)|J Street]].<ref name=bruck/>
According to former representative [[Brian Baird]] (D-[[Washington (state)|Washington]]), "Any member of Congress knows that AIPAC is associated indirectly with significant amounts of campaign spending if you're with them, and significant amounts against you if you're not with them." "AIPAC-connected money" amounted to about $200,000 in each of his campaigns for office—"and that's two hundred thousand going your way, versus the other way: a four-hundred-thousand-dollar swing."<ref name=bruck-p58>{{cite magazine|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 1, 2014|page=58 column 1|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|access-date=September 9, 2014}}</ref> AIPAC-directed campaign contributions—as with many interest groups—came with considerable "tactical input". AIPAC staffers told Baird and other lawmakers, "No, we don't say it that way, we say it this way." Baird complained, "There's a whole complex semantic code you learn. ... After a while, you find yourself saying and repeating it as if it were fact."<ref name="bruck" />
===Goals===
AIPAC strongly supports substantial [[US aid to Israel|U.S. aid to Israel]]. In March 2009, AIPAC executive director Howard Kohr appeared before the [[United States House Committee on Appropriations|House Committee on Appropriations]]' [[United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs|Foreign Operations subcommittee]] and requested that Israel receive $2.775 billion in military aid in fiscal year 2010, as called for in the 2007 [[Memorandum of understanding|Memorandum of Understanding]] between the U.S. and Israel that allocates $30 billion in aid for Israel over 10 years. Kohr stated that "American assistance to Israel serves vital U.S. national security interests and advances critical U.S. foreign policy goals." The military hardware Israel must purchase to face the increased threat of terrorism and Islamist radicalism is increasingly expensive due to the recent spike in petroleum prices which have enabled countries such as Iran to augment their military budgets, according to Kohr.<ref name=Usa/><ref>[http://jta.org/news/article/2009/03/27/1004048/aipac-head-testifies-on-israel-aid AIPAC head testifies on Israel aid] by Eric Fingerhut, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), March 27, 2009.</ref>
===The Iraq War===
The day after [[George W. Bush]] addressed the [[United Nations General Assembly]] to call for [[2003 invasion of Iraq|action against Iraq]], AIPAC said to the [[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] that "[i]f the president asks Congress to support action in Iraq, AIPAC would lobby members of Congress to support him."<ref name="AIPACIraqStatement">{{cite news |last1=Berger |first1=Matthew E. |title=Jewish Groups Laud Bush's Words in Clearest Statement Yet on Iraq |url=https://www.jta.org/archive/jewish-groups-laud-bushs-words-in-clearest-statement-yet-on-iraq |access-date=June 30, 2024 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=September 13, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226063922/https://www.jta.org/archive/jewish-groups-laud-bushs-words-in-clearest-statement-yet-on-iraq |archive-date=December 26, 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> [[John Judis]] wrote in ''[[The New Republic]]'' that although AIPAC lobbying was not widely reported to prevent Arab states from connecting Bush's war plans to Israel, executive director Kohr called {{"'}}quietly' lobbying Congress to [[Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002|approve the use of force in Iraq]]" one of AIPAC's successes at a January 2003 AIPAC meeting. AIPAC spokesman Josh Block told ''The New Republic'' that AIPAC did no lobbying and that Kohr was misquoted.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Judis |first1=John B. |title=Moran Down |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/61979/moran-down |access-date=June 30, 2024 |magazine=The New Republic |date=October 1, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930033506/https://newrepublic.com/article/61979/moran-down |archive-date=September 30, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref> In articles for ''[[The Washington Post]]'', both [[Dana Milbank]] and [[Glenn Frankel]] noted that while AIPAC, like the Israeli government, officially had no position on the merits of going to war with Iraq, Bush administration officials were applauded at AIPAC events for defending the [[Iraq War]].<ref name="Milbank">{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A63578-2003Mar31?language=printer |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604191400/http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A63578-2003Mar31?language=printer |archive-date=2012-06-04 |title=For Israel Lobby Group, War Is Topic A, Quietly|newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Dana|last=Milbank|date=April 1, 2003|access-date=June 30, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Post-friendship" /> [[Jeffrey Goldberg]] reported in ''[[The New Yorker]]'' that AIPAC had lobbied Congress in favor of the war, but that Iraq was not one of its chief concerns.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Jeffrey|last=Goldberg |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/07/04/real-insiders |title=Real Insiders |magazine=The New Yorker |date=July 4, 2005 |access-date=June 30, 2024}}</ref> ''[[J. The Jewish News of Northern California]]'' explained that while AIPAC never explicitly supported or lobbied for the Iraq War, some in the pro-Israel community had seen the war as aligning the United States and Israel against Arab and Muslim radicalism. However, by the time of the 2007 AIPAC annual policy conference, continuing violence in Iraq had undermined that view, and at a conference session, the war was blamed for an increase in global terrorism.<ref name="JewishNews">{{cite news |last1=Kampeas |first1=Ron |title=AIPAC meeting wasn't supposed to be partisan, but |url=https://www.jweekly.com/2007/03/16/aipac-meeting-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-partisan-but/ |access-date=June 30, 2024 |work=J. The Jewish News of Northern California |agency=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=March 16, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608004725/https://www.jweekly.com/2007/03/16/aipac-meeting-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-partisan-but/ |archive-date=June 8, 2023}}</ref>
===Policy towards Iran===
AIPAC's official position on Iran is to encourage a strong diplomatic and economic response coordinated among the [[United States government]], its European allies, Russia, and China.<ref name="Post-friendship" />
In 2012, AIPAC called for "crippling" sanctions on Iran in a letter to every member of Congress.<ref>[http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20100310-203620.html US-Israel group demands "crippling" Iran sanctions] March 10, 2010| AFP</ref> In line with this approach, AIPAC has lobbied to levy economic [[embargo]]es and increase [[International sanctions|sanctions]] on Iran (known as the Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2013).<ref name="About AIPAC">{{cite web|title=What We've Accomplished|url=http://www.aipac.org/en/about/what-weve-accomplished|publisher=AIPAC|access-date=September 12, 2018}}</ref>  However, according to ''The New York Times'', its effort "stalled after stiff resistance from President Obama."<ref name=LANDLER/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/02/07/aipac-clarifies-position-on-iran-sanctions-bill-in-letter-to-supporters/ |title= AIPAC Clarifies Position on Iran Sanctions Bill in Letter to Supporters |date=February 7, 2014 |website=www.algemeiner.com |publisher=algemeiner.com |access-date=February 8, 2014}}</ref>
On [[agriculture]] and agricultural trade AIPAC lobbies for greater cooperation between the two countries.<ref name=jewishenterprise/> AIPAC considers agriculture to be a key economic sector for economic cooperation between them.<ref name=jewishenterprise>{{cite journal|year=2022|publisher=[[Springer Nature Switzerland AG]]|first=Richard|last=Heiberger|journal=[[Contemporary Jewry]]|issn=0147-1694|eissn=1876-5165|title=Capturing the Changing Nature of the "Jewish Enterprise"|volume=42 |issue=3–4 |pages=385–411 |doi=10.1007/s12397-022-09456-9 |s2cid=254658652 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12397-022-09456-9}}</ref>
===Successes===
AIPAC has been compared to firearms, banking, defense, and energy lobbies as "long" being "a feature of politics in Washington."
Its promotional literature notes that the Leadership Reception during its annual Policy Conference "will be attended by more members of Congress than almost any other event, except for a joint session of Congress or a State of the Union address."<ref name=bruck-50>{{cite magazine|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 1, 2014|page=50|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|access-date=September 9, 2014}}</ref>
''[[The New York Times]]'' has described AIPAC as "a major force in shaping United States policy in the Middle East"<ref>{{cite news|last=Shipler|first=David K.|title=On Middle East Policy, A Major Influence|work=The New York Times|date=July 6, 1987|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40711FD39540C758CDDAE0894DF484D81}}</ref> that is able to push numerous bills through Congress. "Typically," these "pass by unanimous votes."<ref name=LANDLER>{{cite news|last1=Landler|first1=Mark|title=Potent Pro-Israel Group Finds Its Momentum Blunted|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/04/world/middleeast/potent-pro-israel-group-finds-its-momentum-blunted.html|access-date=September 12, 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 3, 2014}}</ref>
A [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] resolution condemning the [[United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict|UN Goldstone Report]] on human rights violations by Israel in Gaza, for example, passed 344–36 in 2009.<ref name="govtrack">{{cite web|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h2009-838|title=House Vote On Passage: H. Res. 867: Calling on the President and the Secretary of State to|date=November 3, 2009|work=GovTrack|access-date=November 4, 2009}}</ref><ref name=bruck-58>{{cite magazine|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 1, 2014|page=58|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|access-date=September 9, 2014}}</ref>
In 1997, ''[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]'' magazine named AIPAC the second-most powerful influence group in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kurtzman |first=D |date=November 11, 1998 |title=AIPAC listed 2nd most powerful group on Fortune list |url=http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/971128/aipac.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010716113551/http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/971128/aipac.shtml |archive-date=2001-07-16 |access-date=2023-11-04 |website=Jewish News of Greater Phoenix}}</ref>
AIPAC advises members of Congress about the issues that face today's Middle East, including the dangers of extremism and terrorism. It was an early supporter of the Counter-Terrorism Act of 1995, which resulted in increased FBI resources being committed to fight terrorism.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bruck |first1=Connie |title=Friends of Israel |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel |access-date=November 4, 2018 |agency=The New Yorker |issue=September 1, 2014}}</ref>
AIPAC also lobbies for financial aid from the United States to Israel, helping to procure up to $3 billion in aid yearly, making Israel "the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign assistance since World War II."<ref>Sharp, Jeremy M.: "U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel", Introduction, "CRS Report for Congress", Order Code RL33222</ref> According to the [[Congressional Research Service]] (CRS), these include providing aid "as all grant cash transfers, not designated for particular projects, and...transferred as a lump sum in the first month of the fiscal year, instead of in periodic increments. Israel is allowed to spend about one quarter of the military aid for the procurement in Israel of defense articles and services, including research and development, rather than in the United States."<ref>Migdalovitz, Carol: "Israel: Background and Relations with the United States", page 29. "CRS Report for Congress", Order Code RL33476</ref>
==Policy Conference==
[[File:Donald Trump speaking at AIPAC.jpg|thumb|[[Donald Trump]] speaking at the 2016 AIPAC Policy Conference]]
===2016===
In 2016, nearly 20,000 delegates attended the AIPAC Policy Conference; approximately 4,000 of those delegates were American students.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |url=http://www.webbcanyonchronicle.com/#!Special-Report-AIPAC-Policy-Conference-strengthens-AmericanIsrael-alliance/cjds/572121650cf2a12871ba86d3 |work=Webb Canyon Chronicle |last=Reznik |first=Ethan |date=April 27, 2016 |title=Special Report: AIPAC Policy Conference strengthens American-Israel alliance |volume=VIII |access-date=August 7, 2016}}{{failed verification|date=March 2020}}</ref> For the first time in AIPAC's history, the general sessions of Policy Conference were held in [[Washington, D.C.]]'s [[Capital One Arena|Verizon Center]] in order to accommodate the large number of delegates. Keynote speakers included Vice President [[Joe Biden]], former secretary of state [[Hillary Clinton]], Republican presidential candidate [[Donald Trump]], Governor [[John Kasich]], Senator [[Ted Cruz]], and Speaker [[Paul Ryan]]. Israeli prime minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]], who has spoken at AIPAC before in person, addressed Policy Conference via satellite on the final day of the conference.
==Prominent officers and supporters==
Howard Kohr has been the CEO of AIPAC since 1996, nearly half of its existence, serving with most of its presidents.<ref name=Kohr>{{cite journal|url=https://www.jpost.com/50-most-influential-jews/32-howard-kohr-565501|title=32. Howard Kohr|series=The Jerusalem Post’s 50 Most Influential Jews of 2021|journal=The Jerusalem Post|date=September 9, 2018|first=Jeremy|last=Sharon|access-date=May 11, 2022}}</ref>
===Presidents===
{| class="wikitable"
|+ AIPAC presidents
|-
! President !! Date range !! Short bio
|-
| Robert Asher || 1962–1964 || Lighting-fixtures dealer in Chicago
|-
| [[Larry Weinberg]] || 1976–1982<ref>{{cite press release|title=In Memoriam: AIPAC Trailblazer Larry Weinberg |url=https://www.aipac.org/resources/in-memoriam-aipac-trailblazer-larry-weinberg |publisher=AIPAC}}</ref> || Real-estate broker in Los Angeles and a former owner of the [[Portland Trail Blazers]]
|-
| Edward Levy Jr. || Ended 1988<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Howard |title=Reported Shake-ups at Aipac Put Lobby Back in the Headlines |url=https://www.jta.org/1988/12/22/archive/reported-shake-ups-at-aipac-put-lobby-back-in-the-headlines |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=December 22, 1988}}</ref> || Building-supplies executive in Detroit
|-
| [[Mayer "Bubba" Mitchell]] || 1990–1992<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hoffman |first1=Roy |title=Mitchell 'lived the American dream' |url=https://www.al.com/live/2007/09/mitchell_lived_the_american_dr.html |access-date=14 June 2021 |work=Alabama.com |date=September 27, 2007 |language=en}}</ref> ||  Real estate developer in Mobile, Alabama
|-
| [[David Steiner (AIPAC)|David Steiner]] || Resigned 1992<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mann |first1=Cynthia |title=Aipac President Quits After Boasting of Influence over Baker and Clinton |url=https://www.jta.org/1992/11/05/archive/aipac-president-quits-after-boasting-of-influence-over-baker-and-clinton |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=November 5, 1992}}</ref> || Construction and real estate executive
|-
| [[Steven Grossman (political operative)|Steven Grossman]]|| 1992–1996<ref>{{cite news |title=AIPACs Steve Grossman takes Democratic Party post |url=https://www.jweekly.com/1997/01/17/aipac-s-steve-grossman-takes-democratic-party-post/ |work=jweekly |date=1997-01-17}}</ref>|| Communications executive and former Democratic Party chairman
|-
| [[Melvin Dow]]|| Started 1996<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Neil A. |title=Court Again Casts Doubt On Status of Israeli Lobby |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/10/us/court-again-casts-doubt-on-status-of-israeli-lobby.html |work=The New York Times |date=December 10, 1996}}</ref>|| Houston attorney
|-
| [[Lonny Kaplan]]|| 1998–2000<ref>{{cite web |last1=Orland |first1=Max |title=Lionel (Lonny) Kaplan |url=https://orlandsmemorialchapel.com/lionel-lonny-kaplan/ |publisher=Funeral Home Orlands Memorial Chapel Ewing New Jersey |date=June 3, 2017}}</ref>|| New Jersey insurance executive
|-
| [[Tim Wuliger]]|| Ended 2001<ref>{{cite news |title=Arafat, intifada giving AIPAC new direction |url=https://www.jweekly.com/2001/03/23/arafat-intifada-giving-aipac-new-direction/ |work=jweekly |date=March 23, 2001}}</ref>|| Cleveland investor
|-
| [[Amy Friedkin]] || 2002–2004<ref>{{cite web |title=An Interview with Amy Friedkin |url=https://theicenter.org/voice/interview-amy-friedkin |publisher=The iCenter |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420070827/https://theicenter.org/voice/interview-amy-friedkin |archive-date=April 20, 2017 |date=March 1, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=TF />|| San Francisco, active in grassroots Jewish organisations
|-
| [[Bernice Manocherian]]|| 2004–2006<ref name=TF>{{cite news |title=AIPAC To Appoint First Woman President in Over a Decade |url=https://forward.com/news/breaking-news/336458/aipac-to-appoint-first-woman-president-in-over-a-decade/ |access-date=15 June 2021 |work=JTA |publisher=The Forward |date=March 20, 2016}}</ref>||
|-
| Howard Friedman|| 2006–2010<ref>{{cite web |title=Howard E. Friedman Director Biography |url=https://sbgi.net/people/howard-e-friedman/ |website=Sinclair Broadcast Group |access-date=15 June 2021}}</ref>||
|-
| Lillian Pinkus || Started 2016<ref name=TF /> ||
|-
| Betsy Berns Korn || 2020–present<ref name="TimesOfIsrael-2019-03-25">{{Cite news |last=Kampeas |first=Ron |date=March 25, 2019 |title=AIPAC names 'female football fan' entrepreneur next president of lobby |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/aipac-names-female-football-fan-entrepreneur-next-president-of-lobby/ |access-date=2022-03-09 |work=[[The Times of Israel|Times of Israel]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Tabachnick |first1=Toby |last2=Kampeas |first2=Ron |date=March 4, 2020 |title=Question of bipartisanship dominated AIPAC Policy Conference |url=https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/question-of-bipartisanship-dominated-aipac-policy-conference/ |access-date=2022-03-09 |magazine=[[Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle]] |language=en-US |quote=Betsy Berns Korn, the newly installed president of AIPAC, took the podium Sunday night....}}</ref> || Former AIPAC vice president and former [[National Football League|NFL]] employee
|}
===Supporters===
{{Update inline|date=December 2024}}AIPAC has a wide base of supporters both in and outside of Congress.
*Support among congressional members includes a majority of members of both the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] Parties. According to AIPAC, the annual Policy Conference is second only to the [[State of the Union]] address for the number of Federal officials in attendance at an organized event.<ref name="milbank1">{{cite news|last1=Milbank|first1=Dana|title=AIPAC's Big, Bigger, Biggest Moment|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/23/AR2005052301565.html|access-date=November 25, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 24, 2005}}</ref><ref name="bruck1">{{cite news|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|access-date=November 25, 2016|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 1, 2014}}</ref>
==American Israel Education Foundation==
The American Israel Education Foundation is a sister organization of AIPAC,<ref name=Abourezk>{{cite news|last1=Abourezk|first1=Jim|title=The hidden cost of free congressional trips to Israel|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0126/p09s01-coop.html|access-date=October 7, 2014|agency=csmonitor.com|date=January 26, 2007}}</ref> that handles educational work, rather than lobbying. It is a [[501(c)(3)#501(c)(3)|501(c)(3)]] non-profit educational organization that conducts educational programs, including educational trips to [[Israel]] for members of the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] and other American politicians.<ref name="rice2013">{{cite web | title=AIEF Israel Seminar: Motley Rice member travels with other leaders interested in U.S.-Israel relations | website=Motley Rice | date=March 1, 2013 | url=https://www.motleyrice.com/article/aief-us-israel-relation | access-date=September 11, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.schusterman.org/programs/israel/american-israel-education-foundation | title=American Israel Education Foundation | publisher=Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation | access-date=November 27, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111118045515/http://www.schusterman.org/programs/israel/american-israel-education-foundation | archive-date=November 18, 2011 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}</ref>
AIEF trips for members of Congress occur every two years, becoming "the top spender on congressional travel" in those years.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_26/House_Members_Flock_to_Israel_With_Travel_Loophole_AIPAC-208599-1.html?zkMobileView=true | title=Members Flock to Israel With Travel Loophole | work=Roll Call | date=September 9, 2011 | access-date=November 27, 2011 | last1=Becker | first1=Amanda | last2=Bade | first2=Rachael}}</ref> In August 2019, the foundation sponsored week-long trips with 72 members of Congress: 41 Democrats and 31 Republicans.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jns.org/in-largest-ever-delegation-72-congressmen-dont-skipthetrip-express-bipartisan-support-for-israel/|title=72 representatives don't #skipthetrip, join largest-ever delegation to Israel|last=Traiman|first=Alex|date=2019-08-11|website=JNS.org|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-15}}</ref> They traveled to [[Israel]] and the [[West Bank]] and visited with Israeli prime minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] and [[Palestinian National Authority|Palestinian Authority]] President [[Mahmoud Abbas]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=232876 | title=81 Congressmen to Visit Israel in Coming Weeks | work=The Jerusalem Post | date=August 8, 2011 | access-date=November 27, 2011 | last1=Keinon | first1=Herb}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/us/politics/16congress.html?_r=1 | title=A Recess Destination With Bipartisan Support: Israel and the West Bank | work=The New York Times | date=August 15, 2011 | access-date=November 27, 2011 | last1=Steinhauer| first1=Jennifer}}</ref> Other educational activities include regular seminars for congressional staff.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.aipac.org/en/hill-staff | title=Hill Staff | publisher=AIPAC | access-date=November 27, 2011}}</ref>
Critics alleges that these trips are propaganda rather than education and do not tell the [[Palestinian territories|Palestinian]] "side of the story,"<ref name=Abourezk2>{{cite news|last1=Abourezk|first1=Jim|title=The hidden cost of free congressional trips to Israel|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0126/p09s01-coop.html|access-date=October 7, 2014|agency=csmonitor.com|quote=These trips are defended as "educational". In reality, as I know from my many colleagues in the House and Senate who participated in them, they offer Israeli propagandists an opportunity to expose members of Congress to only their side of the story. The Israeli narrative of how the nation was created, and Israeli justifications for its brutal policies omit important truths about the Israeli takeover and occupation of the Palestinian territories.|date=January 26, 2007}}</ref> and that they violate ethics rules prohibiting lobbying groups from gifting personal travel to congresspersons.<ref name="hill2019">{{cite web | last=Bowden | first=John | title=Activist group files ethics complaint against AIPAC over congressional Israel trips | website=The Hill | date=August 14, 2019 | url=https://thehill.com/regulation/lobbying/457456-activist-group-files-ethics-complaint-against-aipac-over-congressional | access-date=September 11, 2020|quote=Antiwar activist group Codepink has filed a claim with the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) arguing that yearly trips to Israel for freshman lawmakers hosted by the lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) are unconstitutional.}}</ref>
==Political Action Committee==
Until 2021 AIPAC did not raise funds for political candidates itself, but its members raise money for candidates through [[political action committee]]s unaffiliated with AIPAC and by other means.<ref name=bruck/> In late 2021, AIPAC formed its own political action committee. It also announced plans for a [[Super PAC]], which can spend money on behalf of candidates.<ref name="FECPacDatabase">{{cite web |url=https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?C00797670 |title=American Israel Public Affairs Committee Political Action Committee |publisher=Federal Election Commission |access-date=2022-03-08}}</ref><ref name="TOE-2021-12-16">{{Cite news |last=Kampeas |first=Ron  |date=December 16, 2021 |title=After 70 years on the sidelines, AIPAC will now officially fundraise for politicians |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-70-years-on-the-sidelines-aipac-will-now-officially-fundraise-for-politicians/ |access-date=2022-03-08 |work=[[The Times of Israel]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="JPost-2021-12-21">{{Cite news |first=Omri |last=Nahmias |date=December 21, 2021 |title=What's behind the AIPAC strategy shift? |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-689406 |access-date=2022-03-08 |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="HaYom-2021-12-19">{{Cite news |title=AIPAC joins political finance arena with launch of 2 PACs |date=December 19, 2021 |first=Dimitriy |last=Shapiro |url=https://www.israelhayom.com/2021/12/19/aipac-joins-political-campaign-finance-arena-with-launch-of-2-pacs/ |work=[[Israel Hayom]] |access-date=2022-03-08}}</ref> In a letter explaining the move, Betsy Berns Korn, AIPAC president, said: "The DC political environment has been undergoing profound change. Hyperpartisanship, high congressional turnover and the exponential growth in the cost of campaigns now dominate the landscape."<ref name="HaYom-2021-12-19"/> Dov Waxman, director of the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, said: "Although for decades AIPAC has had informal ties with pro-Israel PACs, it has always refrained from forming its own PAC." He added: "I think its decision to establish its own PAC and super PAC is based on the recognition that campaign funding is a crucial means of exerting political influence in Congress, and that AIPAC now needs this tool in order to maintain its influence in Congress."<ref name="JPost-2021-12-21"/>
Former AIPAC executive director [[Tom Dine]] and legislative director Douglas Bloomfield criticized the move, saying it could call the organization's neutrality into question.<ref name="Haaretz-2022-01-10">{{Cite news |first=Ben |last=Samuels |date=January 10, 2022 |title=Former AIPAC Officials Warn Against Organization's New Political Moves |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-former-aipac-officials-warn-against-organization-s-new-political-moves-1.10527931 |access-date=2022-03-08}}</ref>
In March 2022, the PAC released its first endorsements of 130 candidates for the House of Representatives and the Senate.<ref name="AIPACFeaturedCandidates">{{Cite web |title=America's Pro-Israel PAC, First Wave of Candidates, March 2022 |url=https://www.aipacpac.org/featured-candidates |access-date=2022-03-08 |website=AIPAC PAC |language=en-US |archive-date=March 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314194004/https://www.aipacpac.org/featured-candidates |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=March 3, 2022 |title=AIPAC PAC release first slate of endorsements |url=https://www.jns.org/aipac-pac-release-first-slate-of-endorsements/ |access-date=2022-03-08 |work=Jewish News Syndicate |language=en-US}}</ref> The list included 37 Congresspersons of the [[Sedition Caucus]] who had voted to overturn the 2020 election of Joe Biden.<ref name="Haaretz-2022-03-06">{{Cite news |first=Ben |last=Samuels |date=March 6, 2022 |title=AIPAC's Endorsement List: Dozens of Republicans Who Deny Biden's Election Win |language=en |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-aipac-s-endorsement-list-dozens-of-republicans-who-deny-biden-s-election-win-1.10655357 |work=[[Haaretz]] |access-date=2022-03-08}}</ref> The endorsement drew criticism from a variety of sources. Former U.S. ambassador to Israel [[Daniel C. Kurtzer]] said it was "very disappointing that AIPAC has turned a blind eye to the damage that these people have done to our democracy. Their support of Israel cannot ever trump that damage." Conservative pro-Israel columnist [[Jennifer Rubin (columnist)|Jennifer Rubin]] called it "truly horrifying".<ref name="Haaretz-2022-03-08">{{Cite news |first=Ben |last=Samuels |date=March 8, 2022  |title='Truly Horrifying': AIPAC Criticized for Endorsing GOP 'Election Deniers' |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-truly-horrifying-aipac-criticized-for-endorsing-gop-election-deniers-1.10660547 |access-date=2022-03-08}}</ref>
AIPAC's push into the political campaign support comes amid the erosion of bipartisan support for Israel in the US, with opinion polls showing growing criticism for the state among younger Democrats, including American Jews, the breaking of the taboo on comparisons between Israel's treatment of Palestinians and apartheid South Africa, and rising support for the Boycott, Sanctions and Divest (BDS) movement.<ref name=McG170522/>
===United Democracy Project spending===
In May 2022, it was also revealed that AIPAC has been spending millions, channeled through surrogate group, the United Democracy Project (UDP), which makes no mention of its creation by AIPAC, to defeat progressive Democrats and particularly female candidates who might potentially align with "[[The Squad (United States Congress)|the Squad]]" of progressive Congress members made up of [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]], [[Ilhan Omar]] and [[Rashida Tlaib]].<ref name=McG170522>{{cite news |title=Pro-Israel lobbying group Aipac secretly pouring millions into defeating progressive Democrats |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/may/17/pro-israel-lobby-defeat-democrats-palestinians-2022 |first=Chris |last=McGreal |author-link=Chris McGreal |date=17 May 2022 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>
The UDP spent $2.3m in opposition to [[Summer Lee]] in the Pennsylvania Democratic congressional primary race in Pennsylvania. Lee has supported setting conditions for US aid to Israel and accused the country of atrocities in Gaza, comparing Israeli actions to the treatment of young black men in the U.S.<ref name=McG170522/> The UDP also spent $2m in a North Carolina senate primary to support the incumbent Valeria Foushee against [[Nida Allam]], the first Muslim American woman to hold elected office in North Carolina and the political director for the 2016 presidential campaign of [[Bernie Sanders]]. Both candidates are endorsed by the squad.<ref name=McG170522/> UDP spent an estimated $280,000 to support incumbent [[Ohio's 11th congressional district|Ohio's 11th Congressional District]] incumbent [[Shontel Brown]] over her primary challenger, progressive [[Nina Turner]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Progressive Champion Nina Turner Falls to Establishment Incumbent Shontel Brown |url=https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/05/04/progressive-champion-nina-turner-falls-establishment-incumbent-shontel-brown |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=www.commondreams.org |language=en |quote=[Vermont Sen. Bernie] Sanders tweeted earlier this week. "AIPAC and their billionaire friends are spending some $10 million to defeat Nina Turner, Summer Lee, Nida Allam, and Jessica Cisneros.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=Apr 27, 2022 |title=Pro-Israel groups wade into Dem primary fights |url=https://www.axios.com/2022/04/28/pro-israel-groups-2022-midterms-primaries |work=Axios |quote=United Democracy Project has reported spending more than $1.4 million on ads in four House races in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Ohio... United Democracy Project is spending against former Bernie Sanders campaign leader Nina Turner in her rematch against Rep. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio).}}</ref>
The UDP spent a further $1.2m to help the Democratic congressman for Texas, [[Henry Cuellar]], face off a challenge from [[Jessica Cisneros]], a 28-year-old immigration lawyer also endorsed by the Squad.<ref name=McG170522/> After [[Amnesty International]] and [[Human Rights Watch]] released a report accusing Israel of imposing apartheid, Cuellar said "[t]hese inaccuracies incite antisemitic behavior" and decried what he called "dangerous effects of falsified name-calling."<ref name=McG170522/><ref>{{Cite news |date=June 6, 2022 |last=Klein |first=Zivka |title="Calling Israel 'apartheid' is plain antisemitic" - VP of European Parliament |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-710863 |access-date=2024-02-15 |work=The Jerusalem Post |language=en-US}}</ref>
AIPAC veteran Darius Jones founded the "National Black Empowerment Fund" (NBEAF), which contributed money to defeat pro-Palestinian black candidates like [[Jamaal Bowman]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Jamaal Bowman finds himself in the crosshairs of a Black voter group |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/30/jamaal-bowman-black-voter-group-00160630 |publisher=POLITICO}}</ref> and [[Cori Bush]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cheeseman |first1=Abbie |last2=Sotomayor |first2=Marianna |title=Pro-Israel interests pour millions into defeating a second 'Squad' member |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/05/israel-house-election-cori-bush-aipac/ |newspaper=Washington Post |date=5 August 2024}}</ref> NBEAF is led by Richard St. Paul, a member of AIPAC's National Council. Some black organizations argue NBEAF advocates for Israel, not black people.<ref>{{cite news |last1=JONES |first1=DAMON K. |title=WBPC responds to NBEAF: 'You can't speak for Black people in CD 16 when you have done No Work for Black people in CD16 |url=https://blackwestchester.com/wbpc-responds-to-nbeaf-you-cant-speak-for-black-people-in-cd-16-when-you-have-done-no-work-for-black-people-in-cd16/ |work=Black Westchester |date=4 June 2024}}</ref>
[[J Street]] spokesperson Logan Bayroff, has called AIPAC "a Republican front organisation", a fact that he said they are obfuscating while "trying to persuade Democratic voters who they should support". He added: "The United Democracy Project sounds innocuous ... but the reason that they’re aligning with certain candidates is because they are more aligned with their more hawkish positions on Israel".<ref name=McG170522/>
In mid-March 2024, with reports of AIPAC and UDP planning to spend $100M to primary incumbent progressive House Democrats, opponents formed the [https://www.rejectaipac.org/ Reject AIPAC coalition] "to protect democracy & Palestinian rights".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Herman |first=Alice |date=2024-03-11 |title=Progressive campaign launched to counter Aipac's influence in US politics |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/11/reject-aipac-progressive-coalition |access-date=2024-03-15 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dayen |first=David |date=2024-03-11 |title=Progressive Groups Form Counterweight to AIPAC's Electoral Push |url=https://prospect.org/api/content/59dda322-ddb2-11ee-92af-12163087a831/ |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=The American Prospect |language=en-us}}</ref> Founding members include: [[Democratic Socialists of America|Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)]], [[Gen-Z for Change]], [[IfNotNow]], [[Justice Democrats]], [[National Iranian American Council]], [[Our Revolution]], Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), [[RootsAction]], [[Sunrise Movement]], [[Working Families Party]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harb |first=Ali |title='Reject AIPAC': US progressives join forces against pro-Israel lobby group |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/11/reject-aipac-us-progressives-join-forces-against-pro-israel-lobby-group |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Groups Form 'Reject AIPAC' Coalition to Fight Israel Lobby's Attacks on Progressives |url=https://www.commondreams.org/news/reject-aipac |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=www.commondreams.org |language=en}}</ref>
==Controversy and criticism==
===Criticism===
One critic, former congressman [[Brian Baird]], who "had admired Israel since I was a kid," but became alienated from AIPAC, argued that "When key votes are cast, the question on the House floor, troublingly, is often not, 'What is the right thing to do for the United States of America?', but 'How is AIPAC going to score this?{{'"}}
He cited a 2009 House resolution he opposed condemning the [[Goldstone Report]] on civilian deaths. "When we had the vote, I said, 'We have member after member coming to the floor to vote on a resolution they've never read, about a report they've never seen, in a place they've never been.{{'"}}<ref name=bruck/>
Baird worries that AIPAC members and supporters believe that they're "supporting Israel" when they are "actually backing policies" such as the killing of civilians in Gaza, "that are antithetical to its highest values and, ultimately, destructive for the country."<ref name=bruck/>
A criticism of AIPAC's proposal for tougher sanctions on [[Iran]] is that the primary incentive [[P5+1]] negotiators can give Iran to stop its nuclear program is reduction in the [[Sanctions against Iran|sanctions]] that have harmed Iran's economy. By imposing even harsher sanctions on Iran, AIPAC takes this chip away. According to a "senior" Obama Administration official, the administration told AIPAC leadership that its tougher sanctions on Iran "would blow up the negotiations—the Iranians would walk away from the table." The official asked them, "Why do you know better than we do what strengthens our hand? Nobody involved in the diplomacy thinks that."<ref name=bruck-53/> A former congressional staffer complained to journalist Connie Bruck, "What was striking was how strident the message was," from AIPAC. {{"'}}How could you not pass a resolution that tells the President what the outcome of the negotiations has to be?{{'"}}<ref name=bruck-60>{{cite magazine|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 1, 2014|page=60|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|access-date=September 9, 2014}}</ref>
[[Image:AIPAC Protest DC 2005-a.JPG|thumb|250px|right|Protesters at AIPAC conference in [[Washington, D.C.]], May 2005]]
AIPAC has been criticized as being unrepresentative of American Jews who support Israel, and supportive only of right-wing Israeli policy and viewpoints.<ref name="SAIP">{{cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/2007/12/12/ajc_poll/ |title=New poll reveals how unrepresentative neocon Jewish groups are |last=Greenwald |first=Glenn|author-link=Glenn Greenwald|date=December 12, 2007 |website=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]|access-date=February 8, 2017}}</ref> A PEW center poll found that only 38% of American Jews believe that the Israeli government is sincerely pursuing peace; 44% believe that the construction of new settlements damages Israel's national security.<ref name=pew-peace>{{cite web|title=A PORTRAIT OF JEWISH AMERICANS Chapter 5: Connection With and Attitudes Toward Israel|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/chapter-5-connection-with-and-attitudes-towards-israel/|website=Pew Research, Religion and Public Life Project|publisher=Pew|date=October 1, 2013|access-date=September 14, 2014}}</ref><ref name=bruck-52-pew>{{cite magazine|last1=Bruck|first1=Connie|title=Friends of Israel|magazine=The New Yorker|date=September 1, 2014|page=52|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/01/friends-israel|access-date=September 9, 2014|quote=Today, a growing number of American Jews, though still devoted to Israel, struggle with the lack of progress toward peace with the Palestinians. Many feel that AIPAC does not speak for them. The Pew Center's survey found that only thirty-eight per cent of American Jews believe that the Israeli government is sincerely pursuing peace; forty-four per cent believe that the construction of new settlements damages Israel's national security.}}</ref>
Among the best-known critical works about AIPAC is ''[[The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy]]'', by [[University of Chicago]] professor [[John Mearsheimer]] and [[Harvard Kennedy School]] professor [[Stephen Walt]]. In the working paper and resulting book, they accuse AIPAC of being "the most powerful and best known" component of a larger pro-Israel lobby that distorts American foreign policy. They write:<ref name=Mear>
{{Cite magazine |last1=Mearsheimer |first1=John |last2= Walt |first2=Stephen |date=March 23, 2006 |title=The Israel Lobby |language=en |magazine=London Review of Books |volume=28 |issue=6 |url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v28/n06/john-mearsheimer/the-israel-lobby |access-date=2022-02-26 |issn=0260-9592}}</ref>
<blockquote>[AIPAC's] success is due to its ability to reward legislators and congressional candidates who support its agenda, and to punish those who challenge it. ... AIPAC makes sure that its friends get strong financial support from the many pro-Israel [[political action committees]]. Anyone who is seen as hostile to Israel can be sure that AIPAC will direct campaign contributions to his or her political opponents. ... The bottom line is that AIPAC, a ''de facto'' agent for a foreign government, has a stranglehold on Congress, with the result that US policy towards Israel is not debated there, even though that policy has important consequences for the entire world.</blockquote>
AIPAC has also been the subject of criticism by prominent politicians including Democrats [[J. William Fulbright]],<ref name=Forward>Ori Nir, [http://www.forward.com/articles/4064/ Leaders Fear Probe Will Force Pro-Israel Lobby To File as ‘Foreign Agent’] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127095221/http://www.forward.com/articles/4064/ |date=January 27, 2012 }}, ''[[The Forward]]'', December 31, 2004.</ref> [[Dave Obey]]<ref>{{cite news| last = Edsall| first = Thomas B.|author2=Moore, Molly| title = Pro-Israel Lobby Has Strong Voice|newspaper=The Washington Post| date = September 5, 2004| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A62438-2004Sep4?language=printer| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200324085403/https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A62438-2004Sep4/?language=printer| url-status = dead| archive-date = March 24, 2020| access-date =August 14, 2008}}</ref> and [[Mike Gravel]],<ref>{{cite episode| title = Gravel Discusses Campaign Funding, Relations with Iran| url = https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec07/gravel_10-01.html| series = The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer| airdate = October 1, 2007| access-date = August 24, 2017| archive-date = January 19, 2014| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140119000232/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec07/gravel_10-01.html| url-status = dead}}</ref> as well as Republicans [[John Hostettler]]<ref>{{cite news|last=Marans|first=Daniel|title=Why Pro-Israel Groups Are Targeting An Indiana Republican|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/john-hostettler-pro-israel-groups-gop-primary_n_6638117ee4b0e44cfb120fb4|work=Huffington Post|date=6 May 2024}}</ref> and [[Thomas Massie]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Magid|first=Jacob|title=GOP Rep. lashes AIPAC for 'foreign interference' after Iron Dome vote attack ad|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/gop-rep-lashes-aipac-for-foreign-interference-after-iron-dome-vote-attack-ad/|work=Times of Israel|date=28 September 2021}}</ref>
Democratic congressman [[Jim Moran]] from [[Northern Virginia]] has been a vocal critic of AIPAC, causing national controversy in 2007 and drawing criticism from many Jewish groups after he told California Jewish magazine ''[[Tikkun (magazine)|Tikkun]]'' that AIPAC had been "pushing the [Iraq War] from the beginning," and that, "I don't think they represent the mainstream of American Jewish thinking at all, but because they are so well organized, and their members are extraordinarily powerful—most of them are quite wealthy—they have been able to exert power."<ref name="politico moran">{{cite news|last=Hearn|first=Josephine|title=Dems slam Moran's tying AIPAC to Iraq war|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0907/5925.html|access-date=May 31, 2010|newspaper=Politico|date=September 19, 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100425053328/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0907/5925.html| archive-date= April 25, 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="washpost moran">{{cite news|last=Gardner|first=Amy|title= Moran Upsets Jewish Groups Again|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/14/AR2007091402171.html|access-date=May 31, 2010|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 15, 2007}}</ref> AIPAC's membership has been described as "overwhelmingly Democratic" by one conservative columnist (Jennifer Rubin).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rubin|first1=Jennifer |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/aipac-weighs-in-all-is-not-well-with-the-us-approach-to-israel/2011/03/29/AG6WrxVH_blog.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 15, 2011 |title=AIPAC weighs in: All is not well with the U.S. approach to Israel |access-date=May 29, 2013}}</ref>
In 2020, Democratic congresswoman [[Betty McCollum]] accused AIPAC of [[hate speech]] and said the group is a [[hate group]].<ref name="aje2020" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mccollum.house.gov/media/press-releases/mccollum-statement-hate-speech-makes-aipac-hate-group|title=McCollum Statement: Hate Speech Makes AIPAC a Hate Group|date=February 12, 2020|website=Congresswoman Betty McCollum}}</ref>
In 2020, Senator [[Bernie Sanders]] said AIPAC provides a platform for [[bigotry]] and said he will not attend their conference.<ref name="aje2020">{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/2/24/sanders-accuses-pro-israel-group-of-giving-platform-to-bigotry|title=Sanders accuses pro-Israel group of giving platform to 'bigotry'|website=Al Jazeera|first=Usaid|last=Siddiqui|date=February 24, 2020|access-date=September 1, 2022}}</ref> In 2023 (February 19), on [[Columbia Broadcasting System|CBS]] ''[[Face the Nation]]'', Sanders said that AIPAC, formerly bipartisan, had evolved towards attempting to "destroy" the [[Progressivism in the United States|American progressive movement]].<ref name="face_the_nation_2023_02_19_cbs">[[Bernie Sanders|Sanders, Bernie]], interviewed by [[Margaret Brennan]], February 19, 2023, ''[[Face the Nation]],'' [[Columbia Broadcasting System|CBS]], retrieved February 19, 2023</ref>
In August 2022, AIPAC tweeted that "[[George Soros]] has a long history of backing anti-Israel groups...Now he’s giving $1 million to help @jstreetdotorg support anti-Israel candidates and attack pro-Israel Democrats. AIPAC works to strengthen pro-Israel mainstream Democrats. J Street & Soros work to undermine them." In response to the tweet, the left-wing Jewish organization [[IfNotNow]] denounced AIPAC for antisemitism, tweeting that "AIPAC is the antisemitic far right...They are not a Jewish org, nor claim to be one."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://forward.com/opinion/515927/aipac-accused-george-soros-american-politics-antisemitism/ |title=AIPAC accused George Soros of undermining American politics. Is that antisemitic? |date=August 29, 2022 |publisher=[[The Forward]] |accessdate=2023-04-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/bds-threat/article-715593 |title=In ridiculous claim, left-wing Jewish group calls AIPAC 'antisemitic' |date=August 26, 2022 |publisher=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |accessdate=2023-04-06}}</ref>
===Controversies===
Former [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[William Fulbright]], in the 1970s, and former senior [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] official [[Victor Marchetti]], in the 1980s, contended that AIPAC should have registered under the [[Foreign Agents Registration Act]] (FARA).<ref>Ori Nir, [http://www.forward.com/articles/4064/ Leaders Fear Probe Will Force Pro-Israel Lobby To File as ‘Foreign Agent’], [[The Jewish Daily Forward]], December 31, 2004.</ref> FARA requires those who receive funds or act on behalf of a foreign government to register as a foreign agent. However, AIPAC states that the organization is a registered American lobbying group, funded by private donations, and maintains it receives "no financial assistance" from Israel or any other foreign group.<ref>{{cite web
| title = What is AIPAC? A Voice for the U.S.-Israel Relationship
| publisher = aipac.org
| url = http://www.aipac.org/about_AIPAC/Learn_About_AIPAC/26.asp
| access-date =September 9, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080917204558/http://aipac.org/about_AIPAC/Learn_About_AIPAC/26.asp| archive-date= September 17, 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>
In 2006, [[United States Representative|Representative]] [[Betty McCollum]] ([[Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party|DFL]]) of [[Minnesota]] demanded an apology from AIPAC, claiming an AIPAC representative had described her vote against the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 as "support for terrorists." McCollum stated that AIPAC representatives would not be allowed in her office until she received a written apology for the comment.<ref>{{cite magazine
| last = McCollum
| first = Betty
| title = A Letter to AIPAC
| magazine = [[New York Review of Books]]
| volume = 53
| issue = 10
| date = June 8, 2006
| url = http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19063
| access-date =September 9, 2008}}</ref> AIPAC disputed McCollum's claim, and McCollum has since declared the incident over.<ref>{{cite news
|author=Forward Staff
|title=Lawmaker, Aipac Feud After Fight Over Hamas Bill
|publisher=The Jewish Daily Forward
|date=May 26, 2006
|url=http://www.forward.com/articles/lawmaker-aipac-feud-after-fight-over-hamas-bill/
|access-date=September 9, 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610134359/http://www.forward.com/articles/lawmaker-aipac-feud-after-fight-over-hamas-bill/
|archive-date=June 10, 2008
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
====Steiner resignation====
In 1992, AIPAC president [[David Steiner (AIPAC)|David Steiner]] was forced to resign after he was recorded boasting about his political influence in obtaining aid for Israel. Steiner also claimed that he had "met with (then Bush [[U.S. Secretary of State]]) [[James Baker|Jim Baker]] and I cut a deal with him. I got, besides the $3 billion, you know they're looking for the Jewish votes, and I'll tell him whatever he wants to hear ... Besides the $10 billion in loan guarantees which was a fabulous thing, $3 billion in foreign, in military aid, and I got almost a billion dollars in other goodies that people don't even know about."<ref name="report">{{cite web|url=http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/1292/9212013.html|title=The Complete Unexpurgated AIPAC Tape|publisher=[[WRMEA]]}}</ref> Steiner also claimed to be "negotiating" with the incoming [[Bill Clinton|Clinton]] administration over who Clinton would appoint as [[United States Secretary of State|secretary of state]] and secretary of the [[National Security Agency]]. Steiner stated that AIPAC had "a dozen people in [the Clinton] campaign, in the headquarters... in Little Rock, and they're all going to get big jobs."<ref name="report"/>
New York real estate developer Haim Katz told ''[[The Washington Times]]'' that he taped the conversation because "as someone Jewish, I am concerned when a small group has a disproportionate power. I think that hurts everyone, including Jews. If David Steiner wants to talk about the incredible, disproportionate clout AIPAC has, the public should know about it."<ref>[http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/1292/9212069b.html AIPAC President Resigns], Sheldon L. Richman, December/January 1992/93, Page 69.</ref>
====Spying allegations====
{{Main|Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal|United States v. Franklin}}
In April 2005, AIPAC policy director [[Steve J. Rosen|Steven Rosen]] and AIPAC senior Iran analyst [[Keith Weissman]] were fired by AIPAC amid an [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] investigation into whether they passed classified U.S. information received from [[Lawrence Franklin]] on to the government of Israel. They were later indicted for illegally conspiring to gather and disclose classified national security information to Israel.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6059-2005Apr20.html "2 Senior AIPAC Employees Ousted"], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', April 21, 2005</ref><ref>Ticker, Bruce. [http://www.pjvoice.com/v3/004aipac.html AIPAC Charges Offer Opportunity], ''[[Philadelphia Jewish Voice]]'', September 2005. Accessed March 27, 2006.</ref> AIPAC agreed to pay the legal fees for Weissman's defense through appeal if necessary.<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. to drop Israel lobbyist spy case.. |url=https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2009/5/1/726928/- |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=Daily Kos |language=en}}</ref>
In May 2005, the [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] announced that [[Larry Franklin|Lawrence Anthony Franklin]], a U.S. Air Force Reserves colonel working as a Department of Defense analyst at the Pentagon in the office of [[Douglas Feith]], had been arrested and charged by the FBI with providing classified national defense information to Israel. The six-count criminal complaint identified AIPAC by name and described a luncheon meeting in which, allegedly, Franklin disclosed top-secret information to two AIPAC officials.<ref name=rozen>Rozen, Laura and Vest, Jason. [http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=8764 Cloak and Swagger] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070415230043/http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=8764 |date=April 15, 2007 }}, ''[[The American Prospect]]'', November 2, 2004.  Accessed March 27, 2006.</ref><ref>[https://fas.org/sgp/jud/aipac/franklin_facts.pdf "United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, ''U.S. v. Lawrence Anthony Franklin''{{-"}}],</ref>
Franklin pleaded guilty to passing government secrets to Rosen and Weissman and revealed for the first time that he also gave classified information directly to an Israeli government official in Washington. On January 20, 2006, he was sentenced to 151 months (almost 13 years) in prison and fined $10,000. As part of the plea agreement, Franklin agreed to cooperate in the larger federal investigation. All charges against the former AIPAC employees were dropped in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. to drop Israel lobbyist spy case |website=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE540463/ |access-date=2024-04-05}}</ref>
====Support for 2020 election deniers====
After the formation of its first [[political action committee]] (PAC) in early March 2022, AIPAC was criticized for backing the election campaigns of 37 Republican members of Congress who voted against certifying Biden's [[2020 U.S. presidential election]] victory after the [[2021 United States Capitol attack]].<ref name=McG22>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/23/aipac-pro-israel-group-backs-insurrectionist-republicans |title='Morally bankrupt': outrage after pro-Israel group backs insurrectionist Republicans |first=Chris|last=McGreal |author-link=Chris McGreal |date=23 March 2022 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref name=Kam22>{{cite news |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-701727 |title=AIPAC defends its endorsees, including those who questioned Biden's election |first=Ron|last=Kampeas |author-link=Ron Kampeas |date=19 March 2022 |publisher=[[The Jerusalem Post]]}}</ref><ref name=Mag22>{{cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/aipac-defends-endorsement-of-republicans-who-questioned-2020-election/ |title=AIPAC defends endorsement of Republicans who questioned 2020 election |first=Jacob|last=Magid |date=18 March 2022 |work=[[The Times of Israel]]}}</ref>
The endorsement of the politicians was described as "morally bankrupt and short-sighted" by [[Richard Haass]], president of the [[Council on Foreign Relations]], while [[Abe Foxman]], former head of the [[Anti-Defamation League]], called it a "sad mistake", and [[Dan Kurtzer]], a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, urged AIPAC to reconsider the move.<ref name=McG22/> Halie Soifer, of the [[Jewish Democratic Council of America]], said the move suggested "one must compromise support of America’s democracy to support Israel",<ref name=McG22/> which, she noted in an opinion piece published in ''[[Haaretz]]'', presents "a patently [[false dichotomy]] rejected by the overwhelming majority of American Jews."<ref name=McG22/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium.HIGHLIGHT-aipac-s-latest-political-stunt-betrays-its-own-values-1.10670584 |title=AIPAC's Latest 'pro-Israel' Political Stunt Endangers America |first=Halie|last=Soifer |work=[[Haaretz]] |date=13 March 2022}}</ref>
AIPAC defended the endorsements by stating that it was "no moment for the pro-Israel movement to become selective about its friends".<ref name=McG22/><ref name=Kam22/><ref name=Mag22/> In a later, "rare rebuke" of the lobby group from within the Israeli government, [[Alon Tal]], a member of the [[Knesset]], criticized the AIPAC endorsements as "outrageous", noting that criticism was important for maintaining what Tal referred to as "a healthy relationship between Israel and American Jewry", according to ''[[The Times of Israel]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-rare-rebuke-mk-pans-aipac-endorsement-of-republicans-who-disputed-2020-election/ |title=In rare rebuke, MK pans AIPAC endorsement of Republicans who disputed 2020 election |author=Judah Ari Gross |date=28 March 2022 |work=[[The Times of Israel]]}}</ref>
====Financing pro-Israel Democrats in 2022====
Having endorsed over 100 Republican members of Congress who had voted against certifying Joe Biden's election, AIPAC spent $24 million, via its political action committee, the United Democracy Project, to defeat candidates not considered pro-Israel enough in the primaries of the Democratic Party that select candidates for the 2022 midterm elections. Substantial contributions to this funding were obtained from Republican Trump campaign financiers such as [[Paul Singer (businessman)|Paul Singer]] and [[Bernard Marcus|Bernie Marcus]],<ref name ="McGreal2022">{{cite web|first=Chris|last=McGreal|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/04/aipac-pro-israel-groups-primary-race|title=Pro-Israel groups denounced after pouring funds into primary race|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=August 4, 2022|access-date=August 26, 2022}}</ref> together with [[Haim Saban]].<ref name ="McGreal22" /> It spent $4 million to support [[Haley Stevens]] and defeat the Jewish congressman [[Andy Levin]] who is known to be critical of AIPAC's support for hardline Israeli policies.<ref name ="McGreal2022" /> It spent $7 million to defeat the favorite in a Maryland July primary, [[Donna Edwards]], who had failed to back resolutions in support of Israel during its [[2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip|War in Gaza in  2012]].<ref name ="McGreal22">{{cite web|first=Chris|last=McGreal|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/18/democratic-primaries-aipac-israel-hardline|title=Pro-Israel hardliners spend millions to transform Democratic primaries|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=July 19, 2022|access-date=August 26, 2022}}</ref><ref name ="McGreal2022" /> A number of AIPAC supporters [[Weaponization of antisemitism|assert]] that reports focusing on AIPAC's campaign funding against candidates critical of Israel's policies are 'antisemitic'.<ref name ="McGreal2022" />
==AIPAC in film==
The Israeli documentary film ''The Kings of Capitol Hill'' features interviews with former and current AIPAC personalities and depicts how AIPAC has moved toward the political right wing and away from political positions most American Jews hold.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hoffman |first1=Jordan |title=New Israeli film projects AIPAC's steady drift from idealistic bipartisan roots |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/new-israeli-film-projects-aipacs-steady-drift-from-idealistic-bipartisan-roots/ |work=[[The Times of Israel]] |date=7 September 2020}}</ref>
==See also==
{{Portal|United States|Israel}}
{{div col}}
* [[Americans for Peace Now]]
* [[Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations]]
* [[ELNET (organization)|Elnet]]
* [[JCall]]
* [[National Jewish Democratic Council]]
* [[Public diplomacy of Israel]]
* [[Republican Jewish Coalition]]
* [[Washington Institute for Near East Policy]]
* [[White House Jewish Liaison]]
* [[Zionist Organization of America]]
{{div col end}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
* Kenen, Isaiah (1981). ''[[iarchive:israelsdefenseli0000kene/page/n5/mode/2up|Israel's Defense Line: Her Friends and Foes in Washington]]''. {{ISBN|978-0-87975-159-3}}.
* Mearsheimer, John J. and Walt, Stephen M. (2007). ''[[iarchive:isbn 9780374177720/page/n5/mode/2up|The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy]]''. {{ISBN|978-0-374-17772-0}}.
* Oren, Michael (2007). ''[[iarchive:powerfaithfantas00mich/page/n7/mode/2up|Power, Faith, and Fantasy: The United States in the Middle East, 1776 to 2006]]''. {{ISBN|978-0-393-05826-0}}.
* Petras, James (2006). ''[[iarchive:powerofisraelinu0000petr/page/n3/mode/2up|The Power of Israel in the United States]]''. {{ISBN|978-0-932863-51-5}}.
* Smith, Grant F. (2008). ''America's Defense Line: The Justice Department's Battle to Register the Israel Lobby as Agents of a Foreign Government''. {{ISBN|978-0-9764437-2-8}}.
==External links==
{{Commons category|American Israel Public Affairs Committee}}
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Official website|http://www.aipac.org/}}
* {{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer|530217164}}
{{American Israel Public Affairs Committee}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:American Israel Public Affairs Committee| ]]
[[Category:1963 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations]]
[[Category:Israel–United States relations|AIPAC]]
[[Category:Lobbying organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1963]]
[[Category:Zionist organizations in the United States]]